Anand Krishna, an interfaith humanist and nationalist, used two recent events to justify why the purported representation by the Malaysian government to being 'Truly Asia' should no longer be used given its failure to represent the diverse sections within its society.
Recently, an ethnic Indian woman who converted from Muslim to Hinduism was detained by the Islamic religious department and sent to 'religious counselling' because Islamic law forbid people born from a Muslim family to be converted.
Another prominent example was Lina Joy, who converted to Christianity to marry her fiancé, who found the highest civil court, following Islam law ruled that once a Muslim, always a Muslim. Ms. Joy cannot legally marry her fiancé, her children are considered Muslim and as such cannot be educated in a Christian environment, and her burial rites would be performed in accordance with Muslim tradition.
The National Evangelical Christian Fellowship Malaysia (NECF), recently, had deplored the ruling in Ms. Joy case, saying it indicated the creeping of Islamisation in society which had polarised its citizens from diverse backgrounds.
The Fellowship went further, stating the 'unfair and untenable' decision for Ms. Joy to comply with demonstrated the court was retreating in the face of relentless onslaught on their position as the third pillar in a democratic system of government.
Given the concern of the court ruling, NECF has called on the Malaysian Prime Minister to be a leader of all Malaysians and urged him to uphold the Constitution which protects the rights of everyone to choose a religion based on freewill.
